English

World Day Against Death Penalty

Double Tenth Day is our National Day and meanwhile the World Day Against Death Penalty. After Amnesty International and tens of other international human rights groups formed World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in May 2002, they have decided to make October 10 the World Day Against Death Penalty, entreating the countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty to undertake action in terminating the death penalty. In recent years, Taiwan government has repeatedly declared to list the eradication of death penalty as one of its primary political goals. President Chen Shui-bian also reiterated the same idea when meeting with the representatives of International League for Human Rights (FIDH) in the beginning of September. However, in our opinions, it is nothing uncommon that our government's words speak louder than action. If the government really had the intent to promote the abolition of death penalty, yet believed that such change could not be made overnight, they could have at least taken the following measures to gradually bring Taiwan into becoming a society without death penalty:

1. The President shall take the initiative to grant amnesties to in practicality put an end to the execution of death penalty before it is legally eliminated.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense to, at any rate, propose an amendment to annihilate the absolute and irrevocable death sentence in every criminal code and remove the stipulation that death penalty may be imposed upon those who did not violate the rights of life. It is also necessary to introduce amendments in the Law of Court Organization and regulate that the Full Bench shall reach a unanimous decision when rendering the death sentence.

Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP)
www.deathpenalty.org.tw

Convener: Professor Chu Hai-yuan (Member of Taipei Society, Board Member of Judicial Reform Foundation)
Vice Conveners:
Professor Wu Chih-guan (Director of the Peach Research Center of Fu Jen University)
Professor Wu Hau-jen (President of Taiwan Association for Human Rights)